NEW YORK (AP)  NBC Universal and two partners said Sunday they have reached a deal to buy The Weather Channel from Landmark Communications, ending a drawn-out process that had attracted interest from several major media companies.

Financial terms weren't disclosed, but a person familiar with the matter who insisted on anonymity said the purchase price was $3.5 billion in cash. NBC was joined in the deal by the private equity firms Blackstone Group (BX) and Bain Capital.

In addition to The Weather Channel, which can be seen by 97% of U.S. cable subscribers, the deal also includes several related assets such as weather services for newspapers and radio stations and the widely used website Weather.com.

NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric (GE), became the sole bidder for The Weather Channel last month after Time Warner dropped out. CBS and cable industry leader Comcast had also expressed interest earlier.

NBC already operates a digital weather and news service called NBC Weather Plus that was launched in 2004 and would make a logical fit with The Weather Channel. NBC Weather Plus is owned by NBC and its affiliated TV stations and can be seen on digital cable services and digital subchannels operated by NBC stations.

NBC and Landmark said in a statement that The Weather Channel would be operated as a separate entity out of its base in Atlanta. They said they expected the transaction to close by year-end, pending regulatory approvals.

Landmark, a privately held media company based in Norfolk, Va., put The Weather Channel up for sale in January along with its other businesses, which include The Virginian-Pilot and eight other daily newspapers. No announcement has yet been made about the newspaper sales, which are continuing on a separate track.

The Weather Channel was launched in 1982. Its website has about 37 million monthly unique visitors, putting it in the top 15 websites, according to the company. The Weather Channel has 1,300 employees and estimated annual revenues of $550 million.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

To report corrections and clarifications, contact Reader Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification.

Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more.